Henry Cordes House
Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Fredericksburg native Henry Cordes (b. 1861) had this limestone residence constructed in 1893. Originally a three-room structure, it is a good example of the quality craftsmanship practiced by early area stonemasons. the grounds include a smokehouse, a tankhouse and a stone cistern. Cordes worked for many years in the Reliance Roller Mill and in the Stein Ice House. He and his wife Emma (Crenwelge) were the parents of three children. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Fredericksburg native Henry Cordes, born in 1861, had this limestone home built in 1893, beginning as a three-room dwelling accompanied by a smokehouse, tankhouse, and stone cistern. The stonework shows the fine craftsmanship of the German masons who gave the Hill Country its distinctive architecture. Cordes worked for years at the Reliance Roller Mill and the Stein Ice House and raised three children here with his wife Emma.
Why it matters
The house is a durable record of the German immigrant tradesmen whose limestone craft still defines Fredericksburg, one of the most distinctive ethnic settlement landscapes in America.
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Related people
- · Henry Cordes
- · Emma Crenwelge Cordes
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Felix Van Der Stucken Home
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Belgian immigrant Felix Van Der Stucken bought this Fredericksburg site in 1864 and raised the original one-story limestone section soon after, adding a second story later. He ran a steam-powered mill nearby that grew into the Reliance Roller Mills, and his home blended Victorian and Greek Revival details in native stone. The Hennig family bought the house in 1940.
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Old Central Drugstore
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Swiss-born jeweler and watchmaker Alphons Walter raised this two-story building in the heart of Fredericksburg in 1905, then sold it in 1909 to civic leader Robert Striegler, who ran the Central Drugstore on the ground floor. A drugstore would occupy the site for more than 70 years, while the upper floor housed the town's telephone exchange, doctors' offices, and a photographer's studio.
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